Leila by the Bay

Jerry with a J… nice job. Mo, thanks for accommodating our group. As usual the cocktails were excellent, the food was pretty darn fine, and the staff was personable and concerned with getting it right. See you soon!

This place is quite inconsistent. Sometimes they are spot on, and other times they are completely flailing.
Pros:
Happy hour outside on the patio — awesome. A bit annoying that they don’t have the full menu though
The staff is great — just wonderful.
The view on the patio — great any time of day
Some of the food — chic sandwich, macaroni balls, burger, omelets, etc. Oh! Basil ginger lemonade!
Cons:
Management needs to get it together. They leave the sandwich board with the previous day specials up. Very annoying to order something and have them say, «oh that was yesterday’s special. They don’t have today’s up yet». Also, kids menu says available every day, but it is only weekend. When it is busy — like holidays– they end up with a cluster where walk-​ins get seated before reservations. They also don’t staff appropriately on holidays — half the tables empty with lines out the door.
Some of the food is sub-​par. For instance, the corned beef is 95% fat — no meat (had this happen multiple times– in hash and in sandwich). Their lamb stew is weak minestrone with a bare lamb bone.
Also sometimes too expensive for what you get. $ 5 for a glass of OJ. $ 9 for bare, think single kid pancake — no fruit, protein or anything.

I rate this ⁴⁄₅ stars because as far as breakfast goes: 5 stars, for service, food options, and taste. Just great! I love their weekend brunches!
I rate this ⁴⁄₅ because their lunch and dinner options are slim, and frankly the taste hasn’t been outstanding. Service is always great, but I think they’re about a 3.5 — 4 stars on taste depending on the day.
GO HERE FOR BREAKFAST. You won’t be disappointed. Prices are reasonable as well.
Dinner and lunch are on the pricey side.

My team comes here for lunch every Monday for lunch and tried dinner last night. Everything is almost always fantastic. Great friendly servers, fresh food, no problem with special orders. Something for the vegetarian, gluten free, carnivores. They had a nice selection of local craft beers and even a decent non alcoholic beer.
Beautiful to sit outside and enjoy a breeze or sunset over looking the bay.

We just had our Father’s Day lunch here and were all very satisfied. For more than half our party, it was our first time here. We were in around 2 and I was pretty excited that they would still serve breakfast (I had a Surinders benedict). By the time we ordered, we had just missed the mimosa cutoff but the manager was kind enough to accommodate us with a pitcher which was beyond thoughtful and much appreciated. And I must say that it was pretty tasty — not those mimosas that are just thrown together and are «ok». Whatever orange juice and champagne they put together are very complimenting of each other. Though our food took awhile to come out, I’d have to say that the winner of the show next to the mimosas were the french fries. Everyone else had burgers and sandwiches with some leftovers but the fries were pretty much all gone. We’ll definitely be going here again.

Decent food (I particularly liked the chicken sandwich) and the staff was very nice, but the actual service was very poor. I don’t know whether it’s a consequence of poor training or a highly inefficient service system, but the average wait between actually getting our server’s (or any server, or busboy, or bartender)‘s attention was something like 15 minutes. Our orders were delivered incorrectly and it took about 30 minutes for our food to come out.
It’s a shame, since the food is OK and the views are very nice… but bad service is a deal breaker.

Very cute place. Ambiance was casual. Menu is limited, but all very good. Ginger lemonade was very tart, but still good. Calamari was made with rice flour, which may be what makes it so delicious. Tomato Basil soup was delicious, but salty. The salads are huge! Salads have just enough dressing and all veggies are fresh. The Hennessy Chocolate Truffle dessert was very very good, even if you’re full– not too heavy. The whole experience was great. We even brought our Doberman on the patio. :)

Julianna makes the best ginger-​basil-​lemonade ever! As well, she is an excellent waitress, and provided us with a happy experience at Leila’s. We sat outside and enjoyed the gorgeous views, sipping on the delicious drink. The ham and cheese on toast was so-​so, nothing special. The side salad was excellent that came with the sandwich, and the fries were great. We really enjoyed the lunch, and I hope to try another lunch and dinner soon.

Just visited for lunch and it was pretty tasty! I had a chicken Cobb salad and the hubby had a bacon cheese burger.
The views of the Bay from their patio was awesome and the staff was very friendly and attentive. I would recommend this place for lunch and I can’t wait to try out their dinner and brunch!

I love this little hidden treasure. The bartender (Rachael) gives life!!! Management (Moe)is great and the chef came out to personally introduce himself (David). It’s like a little family. O and the food is great Rainbow omelette extra bacon add cheddar cheese and avocado… FETA is a must. Thank you Leila

Service and food quality has gone down hill since the change in ownership. Servers will stare at you for 10 min before they come over to great you. This has happened 3 times now. This is the last time we will eat here.
I use to really love this place. Now I cant stand it.

This place is beautiful! Wonderful food, great atmosphere, beautiful view of the bay, friendly staff… definitely worth coming again and again!
The salmon eggs Benedict and special MoeMosas were really terrific! The portion was entirely too much for me to eat alone but great if you have a hearty appetite!
The owners were present and engaging, very kind and attentive. The staff were helpful and friendly.
Really, highly recommend this place! Can’t wait to come back for dinner

This review is for my third visit here, the previous two were for breakfast. My girlfriend and I live nearby and have thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast experiences here. This most recent visit for lunch wasn’t so great.
Things seemed to have changed rapidly within this business. They no longer serve breakfast outside of certain days and are focusing more on lunch and dinner it seems.
The truth is that I felt nickel and dimed. They don’t serve sandwiches or burgers with fries unless you pay an extra $ 2…while the meal already costs around $ 10 (served with a very small side salad). The menu also feels really limited. My girlfriend is a vegetarian and only had 2 options aside from a salad. They don’t serve appetizers either.

This my second time coming here. First time it was for lunch, which is AMAZING, and to top it off we ate on the patio and the weather was awesome. This time around we came for breakfast, and we didn’t leave disappointed at all. Just make a reservation and you’ll be fine.
I really dig the ambience. The exterior reminds me of an old school Hawaiian home; beautiful view of the bay and railroad tracks to remind us of Hercules rich history. The interior has a clash of historic and modern design. The servers are super nice and attentive, and the food is savory. I suggest you order the Basil Ginger Lemonade, it’s refreshing and amazingly tasty.
We will MOST DEFINITELY be coming here again!

We are brunchers.
With that said this is a great place to chill on weekends and get tipsy off of the bottomless mimosas. ($ 12.99) Lovely interior, lots of natural light and modern fixtures as well as a full bar. There’s a patio as well which provides great seating and a great view on a warm day. My bf and I came here on a Sunday morning and it was pretty packed, we were surprised to be seated right away. The food is okay, I’ve had better. But it came out very quickly and hot, our server was pretty attentive and friendly.
This is a good place for large crowds too, there’s plenty of seating and while we were there we saw at least 3 parties of 8+ people.
Would love to come and try this place for lunch or dinner sometime. Looking forward to another visit!

Just had lunch and I’ll start with the food, I had a Caesar salad with Steak. I asked for medium, it came out well but overall it was pretty good. The dressing is served on the salad with the perfect amount.
Service friendly, nice crew. Only issue was no one knew the wifi code so they might have called the owner who was not present, at least not that I can tell.
Ambience, very nice, clean, well kept.
Here’s where my real problem is. When leaving and signing my bill, I noticed it seemed a bit higher than expected. I signed and left. As I was on my way to my car the menu was posted out front and I then confirmed they over charged me. I really hate when restaurants do that. I didn’t want to waste my time dealing with it so I leave this message to the owner. Check your pricing and reply to this message if you’d like me to return. I don’t mind paying your already high prices but when your system charges more than what the menu lists, that’s just irresponsible on your part.
I posted photos of my receipt and menu for reference.
3 stars for now, may change depending if the owner replies to this post…

The food is what keeps us coming back. The lack of servers that are properly trained will be keeping this diamond in the rough hidden.
Chef hats off to you on the fresh and savory dishes. All is fresh and organic.
I did ask server to give us time between appetizer and main. Hmmm, I guess the chef wasn’t in that conversation?
Our main course was fired. Food came out as we were still enjoying calamari.
Calamari was very good, very lite batter and seemed like a wonderful spread of dipping sauces. Marinara, white sauce, cocktail sauce and a chipotle sauce which was our favorite!
Must of been off nite for bartender? We ordered a margarita from their cocktail menu. Hmm didn’t taste anything near a margarita? They were very accommodating and gave it another try and it was much better 2^nd time. Very pleasant and honest Thank you Mo!
Women’s Bathroom needs attending to. This is a reflection of your business. Come on now!
We really do want you to thrive and prosper for a small business especially in the Hercules/​Pinole community. Nice view and cozy atmosphere with indoor fireplace. Outdoor is nice too, heaters to keep you warm on chilly mornings and nights.
Hopefully things will be more on point. Must of been an off night for staff?
We’ll be back I’m sure!

I’ve been wanting to go here for a while now because the pictures that I’ve seen on Unilocal shows it having this really pretty patio that’s good for spring/​summer days. And I’m a sucker for pretty restaurant patios. But it was raining and I really just wanted food. Driving over to Leila was really pretty. My boyfriend and I have never ventured out to this side of Pinole. There was a parking lot to the side so we parked in there. Outside, the restaurant looks like a house but inside, it’s definitely a restaurant with a full bar and a fireplace. We picked seats next to the window.
We started off with drinks. I ordered the homemade lemon iced tea while my boyfriend ordered a mimosa. The lemon iced tea wasn’t as sweet as I’d have liked it to be so I added a couple of packets of stevia to it and squeezed the lemon in it. The mimosa was good and strong. I only took a small sip but I was already feeling it. Sorry, I’m a lightweight lol.
Though I originally was craving brunch, I ended up ordering from the lunch menu instead. I opted for the eggplant Parmesan sandwich with clam chowder while my boyfriend ordered the salmon sandwich with fries. The clam chowder was really good. It had a good clam flavor to it and it definitely tasted homemade, nothing like the can soups. As for my eggplant Parmesan sandwich, it was good. Though it could’ve been better. The pesto and the roasted red peppers were so wet that the bread from the bottom half that I had started eating from was already soaked in and soggy. The eggplant was nicely breaded. Though I wished the cheese would’ve stood out more.
My boyfriend’s sandwich was the winner of the two. The salmon sandwich was extremely flavorful. You tasted every bite of everything that was in it. And it was deliciously juicy. The fries were good too. Perfectly crisp, crunchy, and not overly salty either.
We were both extremely full, but our waiter tempted us with dessert. She named the first dessert item that they had, which was this Hennessy truffle cake, and we were immediately sold. And it did not disappoint either. It was so simple but so pretty at the same time. It was this petite truffle cake with a blackberry on top. The blackberry had edible gold on it. Next to the cake was some sliced strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce drizzled on the bottom. Everything tasted so good. Inside the cake, there were cookie chunks inside as you went in towards the bottom. The Hennessy flavor wasn’t strong at all but you could still taste a hint of it in there. It was pretty bomb. It could possibly be one of the best desserts I’ve ever had.

Came here yesterday with the family for brunch. It was really good.
I ordered the breakfast burrito, it was vegetarian, and a chocolate and banana latte.
The food was great. I love breakfast burritos and I was not let down after devouring it.
The banana chocolate latte was exquisite. It had the perfect balance of chocolate and banana. It also came with sliced bananas that are on the rim of the cup.
The staff was very pleasant. They never forgot about us and the did didn’t take too long to make.
If you havn’t been here them I suggest you try it out. I personally want to come back and try out their macaroni and cheese balls and the rest of the menu.

Had a wonderful Sunday brunch here with some friends. We drove in from Sacramento because we are big brunch fanatics!
The location is somewhat peculiar but perhaps it is because we are out of towners. It seems as if it is located in a residential neighborhood, but it’s next to a park and has a small parking lot.
I was very surprised at how NOT busy it was. Being Sunday, I though brunch crowds near the bay would be off the charts. Regardless, we were prepared with a reservation.
The building itself is beautiful. It’s a smallish historic house. Our reservations were outside on the patio. From there you can enjoy a beautiful view of the bay.
Service was mostly friendly, our waiter was great while some ancillary staff seemed somewhat unhelpful. They have a nice brunch and lunch selection, as a Benedict fan I opted for that dish.
The potatoes are more like wedge fries, but I’m not complaining! The food was good but not great. Prices were absolutely fair, better than I thought they would be for the bay! A real highlight is the bottomless mimosas for $ 9. I wish I could have taken better advantage of this, but I would be driving back home to Sacramento before too long.
I really enjoyed the setting here and not feeling rushed meeting up with out of town friends. The food wasn’t stellar but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I wouldn’t hesitate to return!